We've had a small artificial Christmas tree the last three years and it has worked wonderfully in our small apartment, but now that we are in a house, it looks a little puny. So, we ventured out Saturday afternoon with our five dollar tree permit and drove through a blizzard to Island Park to find a Christmas tree. We were really glad that we had Papa's truck, otherwise this trip would not have been possible. (THANKS PAPA!)
We did lots of searching from the car and found the best trees were higher up on the hills, so Brian jumped out into a foot of snow and trekked up the hill in his low top Adidas shoes (I swear he owns boots!) and his very thin ski coat. It was probably somewhere below 20 degrees, but I wouldn't know because I hung out in the car. Brian told me to honk twice if I liked it and once if I didn't. I think with all of the honking I scared away any animal that may have been looking for a tasty meal. I was a lot of help!
After a few minutes Brian came back with our first real tree! We have yet to put it up, but we bought some really cute decorations from Roberts. We have a rustic theme going.
All of that searching and sawing made us hungry so we stopped by Big Judd's to grab a bite to eat. They are famous for their three pound burgers. They use to be famous for their one pound burgers and if one person eats it all they get there face on a wall. When Brian was 12 he took the challenge and I would like to say he got his face on the glorious wall but I think he was too sick to stay and get his picture taken.
When they brought out Brian's pastrami double burger we both wondered how he was going to get this into his mouth. Never underestimate Brian when he is hungry!
Last night we were feeling ambitious and thought we would deliver chocolate covered pretzels to our friends in the ward. After about an hour-and-a-half of dipping pretzels we probably had enough for five families so we may need to supplement with some sugar cookies and peanut butter truffles. We probably would have had more pretzels if Brian hadn't snuck so many (ok I was too)! 
To say Brian really likes potatoes is an understatement. Being from Idaho, Brian grew up eating potatoes daily, so it is not unusual for him to try and substitute potatoes into every meal we eat. Brian made up this great dinner called Idaho Nachos. They are similar to normal nachos but instead of chips we use potatoes. First you cut them into slices, bake them, and then get all of the other nacho stuff ready. They are superb! 
I sometimes like to take pictures of the table all set before we eat. I still haven't quite figured out why! I guess this will show you what you need for the meal. We hope you are all having a great week before Christmas!
